Comments

Below are excerpts of the comments of Roger Pielke Sr. regarding this report.http://climatesci.org/2009/01/21/follow-up-on-todays-ap-article-by-seth-bornenstein-entitled-study-antarctica-joins-rest-of-globe-in-warming/ Also check out the lecture given by another Colorado Climate Scientist, Dr. Richard Keen that presents some data on climate and "global warming"http://climatesci.org/2008/10/14/dr-richard-keens-global-warming-quiz/Most will find it highly educational.Pielke's point 2 is especially relevant since we don't have good data regarding any change in temperature of our planet. See:http://www.surfacestations.org/Anthony Watts has an ongoing research effort to measure the quality of the thousand or more stations used to determine an "average" temperature for the US. "Follow Up On Today’s AP Article By Seth Bornenstein Entitled “Study: Antarctica Joins Rest Of Globe In Warming...... I was asked by Seth Borenstein to comment on the paper (which he sent to me). ...... I have read the paper and have the following comments/questions.................2. Since the authors use data from 42 occupied stations and 65 AWSs sites, they should provide photographs of the locations (e.g. as provided in http://gallery.surfacestations.or/main.php?g2_itemId=20) in order to ascertain how well they are sited. This photographs presumably exist. Do any of the surface observing sites produce a possible bias because they are poorly sited at locations with significant local human microclimate modifications?3. How do the authors reconcile the conclusions in their paper with the cooler than average long term sea surface temperature anomalies off of the coast of Antarctica? [see http://www.osdpd.noaa.gov/PSB/EPS/SST/data/anomnight.1.15.2009.gif]. These cool anomalies have been there for at least several years. This cool region is also undoubtedly related to the above average Antarctic sea ice areal coverage that has been monitored over recent years; see http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosphere/IMAG/current.anom.south.jpg].4. In Figure 2 of their paper, much of their analyzed warming took place prior to 1980. For East Antarctica, the trend is essentially flat since1980. The use of a linear fit for the entire period of the record produces a larger trend than has been seen in more recent years. .... In the abstract they write,...“West Antarctic warming exceeds 0.1C per decade over the past 50 years”.However, even a cursory view of Figure 2 shows that since the late 1990s, the region has been cooling in their analysis in this region. The paper would be more balanced if they presented this result, even if they cannot explain why.